N.Y. outlaws hunting captive Eurasian boars

Published 9:59 pm, Tuesday, October 22, 2013

ALBANY — New York wants to head off a potential rampage by wild, Eurasian boar by banning their import and use in so-called "canned hunts."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill on Tuesday that outlaws hunting Eurasian boars, now done in fewer than 20 commercial hunting facilities statewide.

The new law prohibits not just hunting, but importing and breeding the animals and releasing them into the wild. They can weigh up to 300 pounds. By 2015, possession of a Eurasian boar will be a crime.

The effort is intended to end the destruction of farmland by boars and their threat to pets. They're considered an invasive species and have created havoc in Southern states, where they go by the names razorbacks, Russian boars, and feral swine.

The Buffalo News reported the wild board populations are growing mostly because of hunting preserves that attract hunters with a guarantee of getting their game in a fenced-in area. Crop damage in New York by boars was estimated at $470,000 between 2008 and 2012, the newspaper reported.